ANTLR (ANother Tool for Language Recognition) corresponds to YACC and DLG (DFA-based Lexical analyser Generator) functions like LEX. PCCTS has many additional features which make it easier to use for a wide range of translation problems. PCCTS grammars contain specifications for lexical and syntactic analysis with selective backtracking ("infinite lookahead"), semantic predicates, intermediate-form construction and error reporting. Rules may employ Extended BNF (EBNF) grammar constructs and may define parameters, return values, and have local variables.

Languages described in PCCTS are recognised via LLk parsers constructed in pure, human-readable, C code. Selective backtracking is available to handle non-LL(k) constructs. PCCTS parsers may be compiled with a C++ compiler. PCCTS also includes the SORCERER tree parser generator.